Robots

News about Robots, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jul. 30, 2015

Fashion world taps into public's rising fascination with robots, dressing runway models as androids and using drones during photo shoots and parties. MORE

Jul. 21, 2015

Alias, project helmed by Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is developing robot co-pilot functions for airplane flights; program, also known as Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System, differs from other flight automation initiatives in that it aims to augment rather than replace human pilots. MORE

Jun. 8, 2015

Team from Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology wins $2 million prize offered by Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for development of robot that is mobile and also able to operate in hazardous environments; win validates work of JunHo Oh, who designed Hubo line of humanoid robots. MORE

Jun. 4, 2015

Huggable the teddy bear is a social robot prototype that is being tested at Boston Children's Hospital to see if it has therapeutic value for children who have long hospital stays; device, essentially a high-tech puppet, was developed at MIT's Media Lab. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Scientists' efforts to build robots capable of human-like cognition have proved slow and challenging, as evidenced by entries in Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Robotics Challenge competition; difficulty has prompted some researchers to shift focus from building autonomous robots to robot-human partnerships. MORE

May. 26, 2015

Study in journal Science reports researchers have equipped patient Erik Sorto with robotic arm that he controls via neural prosthetic device implanted in his posterior parietal cortex, part of brain that plans and imagines activities, rather than in motor cortex, which is responsible for executing movement; study reports that motions of arm are more natural and fluid using new device. MORE

May. 24, 2015

The Upshot; Robert J Shiller Economic View column observes that many universities, seeking to impart knowledge that won't be superseded by automation and technology in coming decades, are pursuing different strategies; notes that some are emphasizing flexible, insight-bearing human learning, while others see business and entrepreneurial skills as the most durable. MORE

May. 22, 2015

Team of researchers at University of California, Berkeley, are training robots to match humans in speed and dexterity via artificial intelligence technique known as 'deep learning'; technique, previously used in speech recognition and computer vision tasks, combines several types of software and allows robots to learn tasks in short amount of time. MORE

May. 21, 2015

John Hopkins University engineers have developed next generation of prosthetic, robotic arms controlled by amputee's brain signals; users report they can feel texture through the arms, known as Modular Prosthetic Limbs. MORE

Apr. 26, 2015

Robot Factory is first in Tinybop's planned suite of digital apps aimed at children. MORE

Apr. 19, 2015

Zeynep Tufekci Op-Ed article warns that advances in software and robotics will not only take away low-wage jobs, but also will shift balance of power in workplace in favor of employers; suggests that standard response of urging people to learn more skills will not address problem, and that true solution requires examination of how humans value one another. MORE

Apr. 15, 2015

Otherlab, research company founded by Dr Saul Griffith in San Francisco, is at forefront of movement called 'soft robotics'; group's engineers aim to bypass problems of conventional engineering by using lighter, softer materials, creating cheaper and more effective products; soft technology has resulted in non-rigid exoskeletons for military and disabled people, inflatable quarantine rooms, and range of other biologically-inspired designs. MORE

Apr. 7, 2015

Advances in sensor technology, computing and artificial intelligence are raising possibility that planes could be piloted by robots, as well as question of how necessary human pilots are to commercial flights; deliberate crash of Germanwings plane in French alps has made idea of computer-controlled planes more appealing to some, but others question whether passengers will trust robot. MORE

Mar. 31, 2015

Dr David Lentink study in journal Bioinspiration and Biomimetics reports development of robotic wing, inspired by those of birds and bats, that recovers from midair collisions by folding and unfolding. MORE

Feb. 13, 2015

Jan. 11, 2015

Eureka column by Robin Marantz Henig explores growing efforts on part of computer scientists to teach robots to emulate a kind of morality when it comes to making decisions. MORE

Dec. 28, 2014

Ancient Arabian tradition of camel racing has taken a modern twist by using robotic jockeys. MORE

Dec. 25, 2014

Roundup of 2014's 10 best robotic home devices that could revolutionize domestic tasks including grill cleaner Grillbot, rockaRoo baby rocker and the Scooba 450 floor scrubber. MORE

Dec. 23, 2014

Robot named Hector and developed by researchers at Bielefeld University in Germany is first modeled on stick insect. MORE

Dec. 16, 2014

The Upshot; technological breakthroughs are enabling machines to do knowledge jobs and service jobs, in addition to factory and clerical work; digital technology has over 15-year period inserted itself into nearly every aspect of life even as job market has fallen into long malaise; many economists are not sure about whether technology will create as many jobs as it destroyed, which was the case with previous technological leaps (Series: Nonemployed). MORE

Dec. 2, 2014

Exhibit Robot Swarm, set to open at National Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan, involves swarms of small robots that react to footsteps of human visitors; exhibit, which museum says is nation's most technologically ambitious robotics exhibit, is based on simple mathematical laws of emergent behavior. MORE

Dec. 1, 2014

Joseph Silovsky’s play Send for the Million Men, based on 1927 execution of anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti, features robot he built called Stanley. MORE

Nov. 14, 2014

Accident involving two window washers on scaffolding at 1 World Trade Center has raised question of why skyscraper windows are not cleaned entirely by robots; answer from several experts is that humans do better job and that equipment for lowering workers down sides of buildings is necessary for other jobs as well. MORE

Oct. 23, 2014

Robotics scientists are pondering whether robotic technologies deployed in rescue and disaster situations should be quickly repurposed to help contain Ebola epidemic; problem is that mobile robots now lack the human levels of dexterity required in medicine and health care. MORE

Oct. 20, 2014

A study found that robotic surgery for benign gynecologic procedures had a higher rate of complication than conventional surgery, and was more costly. MORE

Oct. 14, 2014

Scientists have created robot that mimics motion of sidewinder rattlesnake, which is adapted to traveling over loose sand; discovery has practical applications for robots operating in sandy environments. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

Bangkok Journal; Thai government will unveil device that promoters say can scientifically evaluate food in order to determine whether it is genuine Thai cuisine; robotic taster, developed by government-financed Thai Delicious Committee, is aimed particularly at combating proliferation of bland Thai food overseas. MORE

Sep. 28, 2014

Wonder Workshop, founded by Saurabh Gupta, Vikas Gupta and Mikal Greaves, is among a new crop of companies seeking to teach computer programming to children through play and robotics; crowd-sourced company sprang out of frustration with the dearth of programming education opportunities for young children. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

Photo depicts spot on 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko where robot Philae will land in November, first-ever such soft landing on comet. MORE

Sep. 9, 2014

International team of archaeologists plans to return to site of ancient shipwreck off Greek island of Antikythera, newly armed with advanced diving suit known as the Exosuit; robotic suit has self-contained life-support system and is intended to allow diver to work for long periods at depths of more than 1,000 feet, avoiding time-consuming decompression periods. MORE

Sep. 2, 2014

Photo depicts efforts by North Carolina State University researchers, who are trying to turn a living moth into a remote-controlled robot, or biobot. MORE

Sep. 2, 2014

Robots have made enormous strides in terms of artificial intelligence and mechanical tasks, but continue to lack even basic perception and mobility skills, factors that keep them from interacting successfully with humans; key issue is the lack of a sense of touch; roboticists are focusing on promising new inroads in haptics and kinematics in order to emulate this highly-developed human faculty. MORE

Aug. 12, 2014

Justin Gillis By Degrees column; scientists are testing robot prototypes designed to collect temperature and other data from ocean depths in effort to shed more light on progress of global warming; some scientists believe that deep ocean is absorbing heat that would otherwise show up in surface water or in air. MORE

Aug. 12, 2014

Starwood Hotels' Aloft hotel in Cupertino, Calif, will begin testing a robot designed to shuttle items from the hotel lobby desk to guest rooms; robotic bellhop is designed by Silicon Valley start-up Savioke; International Federation of Robotics reports 16,067 professional service robots were sold internationally in 2012, up 2 percent from 2011. MORE

Aug. 8, 2014

Creation of robot made of composite paper that can fold itself and start working without any intervention from operator is reported in journal Science; robot, created by Harvard graduate student Samuel Felton, is inspired by origami, Japanese paper-folding art. MORE

Jul. 29, 2014

Scientists at Research Center on Sea Technologies and Marine Robotics in Italy are working to develop robotic octopus, called PoseiDrone, that has flexibility and dexterity to explore tight spaces, repair dangerous equipment or even conform to human body. MORE

Jul. 20, 2014

Op-Ed article by geriatrics Prof Louise Aronson calls for research on and development of robot caregivers for the elderly; contends need for such caregivers stems from lack of qualified and willing humans to do the job. MORE

Jul. 9, 2014

Maureen Dowd Op-Ed column expresses concern about development of artificial intelligence and increasingly capable robots by companies like Google; notes that while artificial intelligence is largely fantasy, robots putting people out of work is a very real possibility. MORE

Jun. 17, 2014

Experts are beginning to worry about dangers posed by robots that work alongside humans in factory settings; safety concerns are growing as robots become more autonomous, moving freely among workers rather than being confined to cages. MORE

Jun. 10, 2014

Two studies by researchers at Virginia Tech suggest cars would be safer if robots replaced humans as drivers; find even cars that are not fully autonomous but automate some dangerous aspects of driving could have as big an effect on safety as seatbelts have had. MORE

May. 6, 2014

American company Sanaria has teamed up with Harvard Biorobotics Laboratory to create robot that can dissect half-frozen mosquitoes with tiny needles to extract their salivary glands, task that now requires line of trained humans with microscopes; project is part of effort to develop unique malaria vaccine using parasites inside glands. MORE

Apr. 26, 2014

Liberty Science Center in Jersey City is capitalizing on 40th anniversary of game Rubik's cube with $5 million exhibition; exhibit features 18-karat gold Rubik’s cube and a cube-solving robot that is no match for speed cubers, as competitors who try to beat the clock are known; architecture professor Erno Rubik, who has toured exhibit, invented cube in 1974 as solution to a structural problem. MORE

Apr. 23, 2014

Dairy operations across New York State are turning to robotic milkers, which feed and milk cows without the help of farmhands; robots allow for variety of improvements, including providing cows with individualized service and monitoring amount and quality of milk produced; trend is driven primarily by need for cutting labor costs and difficulties in procuring dependable workers. MORE

Apr. 8, 2014

Study in journal Connection Science reports that computer scientists have created robots that can teach other robots, and ultimately to outperform their teachers. MORE

Apr. 6, 2014

Investments in cloud computing, personalized medicine, robotics and other tech innovations brought big returns for some mutual funds in the first quarter of 2014. MORE

Mar. 27, 2014

Gadgetwise blog; consumer robotics field has become a $1.6 billion industry, with task-oriented robots accounting for roughly half; trend is bringing the long-held fantasy of robotic servants closer to reality. MORE

Mar. 2, 2014

Anne Eisenberg Novelties column; remote-controlled robots on wheels, or telepresence machines, may soon become inexpensive enough for more everyday use, as a conduit for virtual visits among family and friends; robots may also prove helpful to the elderly. MORE

Feb. 23, 2014

Robots are being employed by Border Patrol as means of policing drug-smuggling tunnels between border of United States and Mexico, serving as eyes in places considered too risky for humans to explore. MORE

Jan. 26, 2014

Some couples are deploying robots to assist at their wedding ceremonies, taking on tasks like photography or videotaping, or even more. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"ARTICLES ABOUT ROBOTS","query":"(des=\"ROBOTS\") and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"List\" and tom!=\"Paid Death Notice\" and dsk!=\"Society\"","search_query":"(subject:\"ROBOTS\") AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"List\" AND -type_of_material:\"Paid Death Notice\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\"","num_search_articles":"15","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"ROBOTS","exclude":["","","",""],"more_on_header":"MORE ON ROBOTS AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}